The school cafeteria oligopoly: who feeds your children?

PalmThe Balearic education system concentrates school cafeterias in the hands of a small number of companies, a reality that highlights the inequality in service management and hinders the survival of family-run businesses and independent kitchens. According to recent data from the Ministry of Education, 212 public schools have cafeteria services, which depend primarily on external managers. Three companies—Restaurante Can Arabí, Catering S'Olivera, and Comensales Comedores Escolares—manage 107 schools, more than half the total. Other companies such as Julio Tundidor Molina, Diver Migjorn, and Menudixm also manage several cafeterias, while small businesses have a very small and declining presence, at a time when the prices of food products and raw materials, as well as general costs, are rising, making it extremely difficult to compete with large companies for contracts, as they complain. Only eight companies or self-employed cooks manage a single cafeteria each, highlighting the sector's imbalance. On the other hand, the case of Catering S'Olivera is particularly illustrative of the oligopoly in school food services: it controls 32 of the 38 school cafeterias in Ibiza, that is, 84.2% of the total.

Regarding the type of service, 134 school cafeterias operate as catering services, with meals prepared off-site and then transported; 64 schools have their own kitchens, and 14 cafeterias receive food cooked in other schools. In practice, they function as catering services. This means that almost 70% of the cafeterias depend on externally prepared food, while only a third cook entirely on-site, where the food goes straight from the pot to the plate in just a few minutes. Although school cafeterias are fundamental to the school's educational project, some policy decisions seem to be going in the opposite direction. The CEIP Nou de Campos is a pioneer in many aspects. It has home automation, heating, and specialized classrooms. But it doesn't have a kitchen, only an area for heating the catering. The CEIP Tramuntana in Palma, which opened this year, does have a kitchen. However, it is not yet operational. According to sources at the school, Can Arabí will take over its operations.

The data on the business concentration of school cafeterias is as follows:

• Restaurant Can Arabí SL - 45 cafeterias
• Catering S'Olivera SL - 32 dining rooms
• School Dining Halls SL - 30 dining halls
• Julio Tundidor Molina SL - 19 dining rooms
• Diver Migjorn SL - 11 dining rooms
• Meals Aguilar Artigues SL - 9 dining rooms
• Barbero y Sintes School Dining Halls SL - 6 dining halls
• Menudix School Catering SL - 10 dining halls
• Angeles Marzo Pons - 2 dining rooms
• Mallorquines School Dining Halls SL - 2 dining halls
• Trotamundos Mallorca SL - 1 dining room
• Bartolomé Coll - 1 dining room
• Margalida Socias Socias - 1 dining room
• Aina González - 1 dining room
• Infante D. Felipe School Dining Hall SCOO - 1 dining hall
• José Manuel Ros Montalban - 1 dining room
• Ben Cuinat SL - 1 dining room
• Margalida Oliver Barceló - 1 dining room
• La Paella Menorca - 3 dining rooms
• Ses Fresetes Catering - 3 dining rooms
• Maria Magdalena Bonnin Lliteras - 10 dining rooms
• Osventos Innovation in Servizos SL - 5 dining rooms

Family kitchens in crisis

The expansion of the catering model has had a significant impact on the kitchens themselves and the family-run projects that historically managed more schools. According to a recent report published by this outlet, self-employed cooks with decades of experience are struggling due to competition from large companies and catering services, which can offer lower prices thanks to economies of scale and greater negotiating power. Transported food breaks the direct relationship between the cook and the school, and participation in the educational activities of the dining hall is reduced or disappears.

Families and school management teams value the proximity, quality, and educational involvement of family kitchens. in situAbove all, they appreciate that the cooks not only prepare the dishes, but also show interest in the students, make sure everyone is comfortable with the service, and interact with the educational community as an active part of it.

However, current figures show that 69.8% of school cafeterias rely on externally prepared food, and that the three largest companies control more than half of the schools. This situation has sparked debate among the educational community and families, who are demanding more balanced contracting criteria that value not only price, but also quality, sustainability, local sourcing, and educational involvement, in order to preserve the school's own kitchens and identity as an essential element of each school's educational projects.

Here You can check which company manages the school cafeteria at each center.